What we have is a competently made film that blends elements of noir with the gangster genre. It also has the requisite love story which somehow does not get in the way.
Sometimes MGM's efforts at crime drama were too sterile, but this one is down and dirty which it must be if you're telling a tale about mafia clans and retribution. Of course, the usual studio polish is applied in terms of direction, camera work and performances, but these aspects of the film do not draw extra attention to themselves. Instead the focus is on providing the audience with a gritty slice of life in Little Italy.
Perhaps the film's strongest asset is Gene Kelly, totally cast against type. He's playing a young Italian man who returns to New York City from Europe to avenge his father's murder. Fresh off the boat, he runs into a girl from the old neighborhood (Teresa Celli) who agrees to help him. Her relatives, except for a kid brother in her care, were all killed in an explosion that was set off by a killer connected to the mob. They have much in common in terms of what they've both lost, plus there are romantic feelings developing between them.
Added into the mix are a few important supporting characters. One of them is Marc Lawrence as a leader of organized crime that the cops have not been able to nail yet. He hangs around like a bad smell, upsetting the efforts of Kelly and Celli to create a citizens' league that will root out local corruption.
We also have Barry Kelley's turn as a decent police captain, as well as one of his underlings, a detective played by J. Carrol Naish. Mr. Naish shines in his role as a fellow Italian on the right side of the law, intent on bringing the big goons to justice and cleaning up the streets. His character is supposedly based on Joseph Petrosino, a real-life NYPD investigator who went up against the mob in the early 1900s and was murdered when he sought to deport several powerful kingpins.
In our story, Kelly goes to work for Naish, while studying to be a lawyer. Together they seek to end the extortion rackets that are occurring in Little Italy. Anyone in the neighborhood who opposes the mafia and refuses to pay protection money faces great danger. Letters are received by the store owners that demand payment or else terrible things will happen. Things like the kidnapping of innocent children; homes being burned to the ground; as well as hits carried out that result in sudden death. The messages are signed with a mano nera-- a black hand. Hence the film's title.
There are several suspenseful sequences. The first one involves Naish's murder, when he travels to Palermo, Italy to obtain criminal records on a few bosses that he wants to deport. There is a cat-and-mouse chase, filmed on MGM's backlot, which leads to Naish's character being slain.
The second notable sequence occurs late in the picture and concerns the abduction of Celli's brother. Kelly goes undercover, with only his knife to fend off possible harm. He is temporarily outsmarted by some hoods and is held hostage himself. He manages to ensure the safe release of the boy, before he sets off a bomb that sends a bunch of criminals to hell.
Supposedly Kelly's role was intended for Robert Taylor who was too busy making westerns at this time. Though he'd played a serious dramatic part on loan to Universal in the thriller CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY (1944), it wasn't until he appeared in BLACK HAND (1950) that Gene Kelly had his first non-musical role at MGM. His dialogue in Italian is convincingly spoken. And he does such a fine job here alongside Naish and Celli, one wishes he'd been given more of these types of assignments.
Sometimes MGM's efforts at crime drama were too sterile, but this one is down and dirty which it must be if you're telling a tale about mafia clans and retribution. Of course, the usual studio polish is applied in terms of direction, camera work and performances, but these aspects of the film do not draw extra attention to themselves. Instead the focus is on providing the audience with a gritty slice of life in Little Italy.
Perhaps the film's strongest asset is Gene Kelly, totally cast against type. He's playing a young Italian man who returns to New York City from Europe to avenge his father's murder. Fresh off the boat, he runs into a girl from the old neighborhood (Teresa Celli) who agrees to help him. Her relatives, except for a kid brother in her care, were all killed in an explosion that was set off by a killer connected to the mob. They have much in common in terms of what they've both lost, plus there are romantic feelings developing between them.
Added into the mix are a few important supporting characters. One of them is Marc Lawrence as a leader of organized crime that the cops have not been able to nail yet. He hangs around like a bad smell, upsetting the efforts of Kelly and Celli to create a citizens' league that will root out local corruption.
We also have Barry Kelley's turn as a decent police captain, as well as one of his underlings, a detective played by J. Carrol Naish. Mr. Naish shines in his role as a fellow Italian on the right side of the law, intent on bringing the big goons to justice and cleaning up the streets. His character is supposedly based on Joseph Petrosino, a real-life NYPD investigator who went up against the mob in the early 1900s and was murdered when he sought to deport several powerful kingpins.
In our story, Kelly goes to work for Naish, while studying to be a lawyer. Together they seek to end the extortion rackets that are occurring in Little Italy. Anyone in the neighborhood who opposes the mafia and refuses to pay protection money faces great danger. Letters are received by the store owners that demand payment or else terrible things will happen. Things like the kidnapping of innocent children; homes being burned to the ground; as well as hits carried out that result in sudden death. The messages are signed with a mano nera-- a black hand. Hence the film's title.
There are several suspenseful sequences. The first one involves Naish's murder, when he travels to Palermo, Italy to obtain criminal records on a few bosses that he wants to deport. There is a cat-and-mouse chase, filmed on MGM's backlot, which leads to Naish's character being slain.
The second notable sequence occurs late in the picture and concerns the abduction of Celli's brother. Kelly goes undercover, with only his knife to fend off possible harm. He is temporarily outsmarted by some hoods and is held hostage himself. He manages to ensure the safe release of the boy, before he sets off a bomb that sends a bunch of criminals to hell.
Supposedly Kelly's role was intended for Robert Taylor who was too busy making westerns at this time. Though he'd played a serious dramatic part on loan to Universal in the thriller CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY (1944), it wasn't until he appeared in BLACK HAND (1950) that Gene Kelly had his first non-musical role at MGM. His dialogue in Italian is convincingly spoken. And he does such a fine job here alongside Naish and Celli, one wishes he'd been given more of these types of assignments.